The Girl With the Half Beating Heart

Alex sulks down the street, his hands in his pockets as his feet crunch in the snow. He’s freezing. He probably should have left with more than a sweater and some skinny jeans, but he wasn’t thinking about that at the time. All he could think about was his mother. He always told himself that even though his mom acts the way she does, she loves him. And that he can’t leave her, cause he’s the only thing she has left, and he knows that it would tear her apart.
But now, he doesn’t know what to think. The fact that his father has been trying to contact him for years tosses everything he’s ever known out of the window. The fact that his mother knew, and lied about it, tosses it out the window, and tramples all over it.
Needless to say, confused doesn’t even begin to state how he feels.
His stomach starts to grumble, and he winces in pain. The last time he ate was yesterday, and it wasn’t even that much because he didn’t want to set off his mom. It was a bunch of snacks he sneaked into his room the night before. He digs in his pockets, only to find he has no money.
“Shit.” He hisses to himself. The shitty thing about it is, he has money, but its not with him. But it wouldn’t matter either way, because its Christmas and nothing is open.
With a groan, he continues to walk down the street. He’s been walking for so long that his legs feel like jello. Frozen jello. Ice cream maybe? Either way, his legs hurt. He left his neighborhood a while ago, and now he’s in town. He finds a post, and leans on it. He glances up to read what street he’s on.
“Thames Street and South Broadway.” He hums, looking back down. He remembers being here once, with Tom. They went to eat oysters, which Alex later discovered he didn’t have a taste for. He smiles to himself, as he thinks about that day.
“Tom! These are gross.” Alex pouted before downing his sprite.
“Then why did you get them?” Tom asked with a laugh, as he ate another oyster.
“I dunno, you got them so I did!” He replied, frowning at his plate full of oysters. Tom laughed again.
“Tell you what, after I finish eating, I’ll take you for ice cream. And next time, we’ll go for burgers. Okay?” Alex smiled widely.
“Okay!” He chimed, causing Tom to laugh again. He reached over the table, and ruffled his little brother’s hair.
At the time, Alex was only 8 or 9. Tom died when he was 12, a year before his father left. It would seem his entire life fell apart after his brother died. He often found himself blaming his brother for everything when he was younger. But now, he’s older, and he knows that none of it was his fault. From what his mother told him, Tom died from something alcohol related. He didn’t mean to go, he just did.
Alex looks up to the starry night sky, while little snowflakes fall. The sun set as he was walking aimlessly.
“I miss you. I wish you could be here right now.” He mumbles. “I bet things would be a hell of a lot better,” He adds with a slight laugh. He bite his lip as he clings to himself for warmth. “I’m sorry.” He whispers.
With a heavy sigh, he gets up and starts to walk again. While he’s walking, his pocket starts to vibrate. He ignores it, thinking its his mom, or worse, his father. A few minutes later, it starts to vibrate again. He groans, and pulls his phone out of his pocket. Without even looking to see who it is he picks it up.
“What?!” He nearly yells in frustration.
“A-Alex?” Acacia stutters.
“Oh, uh, sorry,” He begins. “I thought you were someone else.”
“That’s okay. What are you doooing?” She asks slowly with a giggle.
“Um, nothing. Walking around.” He replies, kicking a pile of snow as he trots along.
“Where?”
“Near Thames and Broadway.”
“You’re in town on Christmas?! Why?!” She asks, sounding way too alarmed.
He groans. “Long story.”
“I have time.” She replies with another giggle. “Can you come over? I’m reaalllly bored. I could use a friieend.” She drags out, still giggling.
“Okay.” He chuckles.
They sit in silence on the line for a moment, when Alex speaks up.
“Hey Acacia?”
“Hey Alllex.”
“I don’t know where you live.” He says with laugh, and she giggles again.
“I don’t live toooo far from where you are. Let me give you directions.”
After talking on the phone and walking around for a good 10 minutes, while Acacia giggled endlessly, Alex arrives at her house.
“Heyy!” Acacia yells as she runs outside, jumping into Alex’s arms. He scoops her up bridal style, and smiles at her.
“Hey?” He laughs, and she grins at him.
“Am I heavy?”
“No, not really.”
“Good to know.”
Alex stands there for a few moments, holding a silent Acacia as he looks around.
“Soo… its cold.” Alex says, breaking the silence.
“Riiight.” She jumps out of his arms, and looks at him. “Why are you wearing only a sweater? Its freeezing out here!”
He shrugs. “I was kind of in a rush.”
“Come on.” She sighs, grabbing his arm and pulling him toward her house.
They arrive at the front door, and she struggles for a few minutes, but finally gets it open.
“We’re just gonna walk through the front door?” He questions, worried. He thinks about having to meet her family, which he’s really not up for right now. He’s afraid he’ll give a bad impression because he’s in a sour mood, and he’s not with his own family on Christmas. That says a lot about a person.
“Uh, yeah? What else would we do?” She giggles, again.
“I dunno.” He replies with another shrug.
She taps his nose, and he scrunches it. “You’re silllly.”
She opens the door, and grabs his hand. There’s so many people in the house, it overwhelms Alex. His head starts to spin, and he begins to feel light headed. Maybe it was because he was freezing and starving, but the overwhelming amount of people wasn’t helping.
She runs him up the stairs quickly, and he sighs in relief that he won’t have to meet any of those people. At least not now, anyway.
At the top of the stairs, they run into someone.
“Quien esta?” The boy asks, a smirk sitting on his face.
“Santiago! Vete!” She yells, pushing him out the way. Alex furrow his eyebrows, confused.
“Quieres un culo!” He calls after her, laughing. She throws up her middle finger, and continues walking.
Once her and Alex make it to her room, she opens the door, pushes him inside, and shuts it. She sits on her bed with a heavy sigh, while Alex stands by the door. She pats the spot beside her, and he sits.
“Who was that, and why does he think I want your ass?” He questions with a laugh, and she sighs again.
“My cousin, Santiago.” She then looks at him, her eyebrows knitted together. “Tu sabes espanol?”
“Un poco, si.” He laughs again.
“How? And why didn’t you tell me sooner?” She questions.
“I take Spanish. I’m in Spanish 3.” He explains, and she nods. “And I dunno, I never felt a need to.”
“Interesting…”
Alex takes a look around Acacia’s room. Its pretty simple, a bed with black and white sheets, and mint accent pillows. Her mint colored wall has posters on it, some from bands, and some from movies and TV shows. There’s a desk in the corner, with a half open laptop on it, and a dresser, with her TV on it. Its a nice room, but nothing special.
“So…” Alex begins, and Acacia looks over at him. “I mean I’m not complaining, its nice to see you again, but why did you call me here?”
“I’m booored. And my cousins are being assholes.” She sighs, before leaning back onto her bed. Alex nods, still silent. Silence floods the room, but neither of them are complaining. At this point, they’re both used to it, so no one really says anything until they feel the need to.
“Hey Acacia?”
“Hey Alex.”
“I have a question.” He says quietly.
“Shoot.” She replies, sitting up and looking at him. He looks into her eyes. She’s squinting a bit, her pupils look smaller, and her eyes are puffy. He sighs. He’s seen this before.
“Are you drunk?”
She giggles, for what seems to be the millionth time. “I dunno. Tipsy, buzzed, whatever it is, that’s what I am.”
Alex sighs again. “What did you drink?”
“Eggnog.”
“With?”
“Whiskey.” She grins, and Alex rolls his eyes. “Are you mad at me or something?” She asks, her face twisting into a frown.
“No, I’m not.” He says blankly. He’s annoyed with the fact that she’s drunk, but not mad. There’s nothing he hates more than dealing with drunk people. Maybe alcohol itself, but he realizes that it was her choice to drink. So he’s not mad.
“Okay. I don’t know what’d I do if you were.” She replies, her grin returning. She lays on her bed again, this time with her head on the pillow. She pats the pillow next to her. “Lay with me please?”
Alex sighs, and lays next to her. They both stare at the ceiling, silent. Alex thinks more about his mom and his dad, and the fact that he’s laying next to a drunk girl. Acacia thinks about her cousins, and how she wishes she just told them no instead of drinking to prove herself. She doesn’t like how she feels. Her stomach is doing back flips, and the room is spinning.
“Hey Alex?”
“Hey Acacia.”
“You know how I feel right now?” She asks, rolling over to look at him. He rolls over as well.
“No, but I bet you’re going to tell me.” He laughs slightly.
“Bet your ass I am.” She smiles, and he playfully rolls his eyes. “I feel like, I feel like a whiskey princess.” She says, her eyes widening and lighting up.
“I don’t think that’s a thing.” He laughs, biting his lip.
“It is now.” He laughs again, and she smirks. “Have you ever drank before?” She asks.
“Nope.” He replies, looking into her puffy brown eyes.
“Good. Don’t.” She sighs.
“Why? Don’t feel so hot?” He questions, knowing that this was coming.
“Mhm.” She groans, clutching her stomach.
“I’m sorry.” He says, feeling genuinely sorry for her. He can tell she’s never gotten drunk before, besides this. Her cousins probably got her drunk.
“Don’t apologize. I was the stupid one who thought I could keep up with my cousins.” She sighs, and rolls over to look at him again. They sit in silence once more, staring at each other. Acacia bites her lip, and Alex gives her a half smile. Caught up in the heat of the moment, Acacia leans in, and kisses him. His eyes open widely in shock, but eventually they slide shut, and he kisses her back. Their lips move in sync, hers tasting like whiskey, and his tasting like chapstick, which he applied earlier. Her hand goes into his hair, and he rests his hand on her cheek. The both of them are obviously enjoying this. Alex then snaps back into reality, and realizes that Acacia is drunk. Meaning one, she probably doesn’t mean anything by this, and two, she won’t remember this come morning. He pulls apart from her, and opens his eyes slowly. She frowns.
“I’m, I’m sorry.” She says quietly, shaking her head, and sitting up. “God, that was, that stupid. Its okay if you don’t like me.” She whispers, hanging her head down. He sits up with her, and looks at her. He then tilts her chin up, so she’s looking at him.
“It’s okay. It’s okay.” He replies with a small smile. “I stopped because I like you.”
“What?” She asks, shocked. It didn’t make sense to her, if he likes her, then why did he stop kissing her?
“I stopped, because I like you. You’re drunk, and I don’t want to take advantage of that.” He says quietly, stroking her cheek. She smiles. “You probably won’t remember this tomorrow morning anyway.” He sighs.
“Of course I will. I’ll try to, anyway.” She says, smiling widely. Alex actually likes her. This is the first time in her life something like this has ever happened to her.
“You can try. But I’ll never forget it.” He whispers.
“Hey Alex?”
“Hey Acacia.”
“Can you kiss me again? Just once. Your lips feel like home.”
He smiles, and kisses her softly, his hand still on her cheek. She kisses him back, wishing that they could sit like this forever. However, all good things come to an end. Alex pulls away, and smiles at her. He runs his thumb over her cheek.
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
They lay back down on the bed, staring at the ceiling once again. Acacia rests her head on Alex’s chest, and he wraps his arm around her. He starts to stroke her hair, until he she starts to breathe heavily. He looks down at her. Her eyes are shut, and her mouth is open. She’s sleeping. He smiles. He picks up her head gently, and lays it on her pillows. He then finds a throw blanket besides her bed, and covers her with it.
“Good night, whiskey princess.” He whispers, before kissing her forehead.
He decides against going back downstairs through the front door, because he doesn’t know who or what he’ll run into alone. He looks out her window into her backyard. Its empty. It doesn’t seem so far up. He opens her window quietly, and sits on her roof. He shuts the window behind him, and scoots to the edge. He jumps off in one swift move, and runs out of her backyard, into her driveway.
He walks a long way home, thinking about her all the way there. How soft her lips felt, and how good her hair smelled. His smile can’t seem to leave his face.
When he finally gets home, he opens the door quietly. His mother is no where to be seen, so she must be in her room. He gets some food out of the kitchen, and takes it to his room. While eating and sitting on his bed, he notices his sweater smells like her. His smile widens. To think, it all started with a visit to the hospital, and walking in on the girl with the half beating heart.